Black Friday is more than a sale for retailers, it’s the main event of the year. Weeks of preparation culminate in one rapid-fire sequence that can make or break annual goals. It’s no wonder that so many ecommerce teams are on lockdown this time of year.
As shoppers frenzy to compare prices and peruse wares, brands are likely to see a surge in searches for their brand terms. And with that surge can come trademark bidders. As we observed last year, trademark bidding jumped during Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
But what about this year? Will Black Friday lead to another jump in trademark bidding? To get an idea, we took some data that we’ve been collecting for upcoming editions of our report on branded keywords. Here’s what we found:
Trademark Bidding Surges in Clothing & Apparel Category
The Clothing & Apparel category has seen a steady increase in trademark bidding on Google since the beginning of September. Starting at an average of a little more than 0.2 Ads per SERP, that figure has more than doubled to a little under 0.5 Ads/SERP.
Consumer Electronics Starts with High Trademark Bidding
Whereas the Clothing & Apparel category averaged only about 0.2 Ads per SERP in September, Consumer Electronics started out at a much higher figure around 0.45. However, after setting that mark out of the gate, it has essentially plateaued since then. Our trendline shows only a moderate increase. Trademark bidding may still pick up as we approach the actual day of Black Friday, but results are surprisingly stable so far.
Online Retail Relatively Low, Flat
Similar to the Consumer Electronics category, the Online Retail category showed only a slight increase in trademark bidding on Google. However, Online Retail started out at less than 0.10 Ads per SERP—a very low rate of trademark bidding. This is consistent with the quarterly averages from our reports on branded keywords, but we had expected a higher figure given that Black Friday is nearing.
What Are You Noticing?
With Black Friday at our doorstep, how have your campaigns been affected? Have your CTRs or CPCs changed on branded keywords? Let us know in the comments below or by Tweeting to us @BrandVerity.
